Wire-drawing machine



J. W. LAUREN.

WIRE DRAWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.6, 1917. 1,377,206,, Patented May 10, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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WIRE DRAWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.6, 1917.

Patented May 10, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- i f I Ill/e250?" UNITED STATES JOHN W. LAUREN, OF DIXON. ILLINOIS.

TIRE-DRAWING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented )Iay'lO, 1921.

Application filed December 6, 1917. Serial No. 205,749.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. Join: V. LAIREN, residing in Dixon, county of Lee. State of Illinois, a subject of the country of Finland. have invented certain new and useful Improvements in \Vire-Drawing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention refers to wire drawing machines and especially to the type of machines wherein the wire is reduced in diameter by being pulled through a plurality of dies of successively diminished size.

One of the objects of my invention is to im rove the means of drawing wire.

nother object is to provide an improved wire drawing mechanism to meet the various requirements for successful operation.

A further object is to provide means for taking up whatever slack there may be in the wire while being drawn.

Another object is to provide means for stopping the drawing mechanism whenever wire that is distorted, kinked, tangled or the like is led from the feeding reel to the drawing machine.

Still another object is to provide a .wire drawing mechanism wherein the wire while being drawn .takes a circuitous path and thereby makes possible the reduction of the size of the machine to a marked extent.

A still further object is the provision of a novel head for pulling the wire through the dies.

A yet further object is to provide a drawing head having a plurality of peripheral grooves.

Another object is the provision of a novel tensioning means for maintaining the wire taut about the heads. I

These and other objectswill be apparent from the drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment o my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation looking at the left hand end of the machine as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged portion of the preferred .form of tensioning means partially in section.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5, and i Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical section through a portion of the receiving reel showing the clutch and brake arrangement. In the machine which I have chosen to llustrate the preferred embodiment of my invention, which, is of the wet type, I employ a bed or casing 10. suitably supported on legs 11. The casing 10 I prefer to make with a bottom 12 and sides 13 and 14 and ends 15 and 16. thus forming a box like body member. Mounted beneath the bottom 12 of the body in suitable bearings is a longitudinally extending shaft 17 having at one end a beveled gear 18 and at the other end beveled gear 19. Extending across the end of the receiving end of the machine is a transverse shaft 20. having mounted thereon tight and loose pulleys 21 and 22 and carrying a beveled gear 23 meshing with beveled gear 18 on the shaft 17 for rotation thereof. The pulleys are adapted for connection to any source of power, preferably by belts. Mounted on the shaft 17 are a series of beveled gears 24. 26. 27 and 28, increasing in diameterin the order named. Extending through the bottom 12 of the body member 10 are a series of vertical shafts 29.30. 31. 32 and 33 carrying at their lower ends beveled gears 34, 36. 37 and 38 in mesh respectively with beveled gears 24 to. 28 inclusive, on shaft 17. The bottom of the body 10 is provided with bearings 39 (see Fig. 4) through which the vertical shafts 21 to 33 extend, preferably the opening through the bearing 39 being formed with its walls diverging upwardly forming a conical bearing slot. Mounted Within this divergent opening are the usual Babbitt metal bushings 40 the outer surfaces of which conform to the shape of the openings in the bearings 39. The upper ends of the shafts 29 to 33 inclusive. are provided with cross pins41 for the reception of the drawing heads 12 which are engaged by the pins 41, and thus mounted on the shafts 29 to 33 inclusive, for rotation therewith.

The heads embodying my invention are substantially semi-circular in vertical section and are provided with a plurality of peripheral grooves. In the form shown I have preferred to show two grooves, eachof different diameters, the lower groove 43 being smaller in diameter than the upper groove 44. the purpose of which will be explained later. Mounted adjacent the heads 42 are guide pulleys 45, the grooves of which regisythe shafts '29 to 33 by a cover 46 (see Fig;

4), for the purpose of covering the moving parts and for holding a lubricant for the various gears.

47 extending from shoulders 48 within ha' ft' 17. The lower portion 46 of the (casing may be connected to the upper port'i0n46 in anvsuitable manner so that it:

Furthermore. the memcasing 46 serves as a support for the may be readily removed therefrom when desired. thus permitting access to the shaft 17'and the various gears thereon.

I Referring now to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the heads 42 are mounted so as to be.-

in alinement over the shaft 17. For main taining a pulling engagement between the wire and the heads 42 in which a tight engagement is necessary for pulling the wire through the various dies, I employ a series of tension members shown in plan in Fig. 1, and more in detail in Figs. 5 and 6. 'These tension members comprise a frame'49 pivotally mounted on suitable pivots 50, in the wall 13 of the body member 10. Mouuted on the frame 49 is a sliding member 51 supporting on the upper portion thereof a pulley 52 arranged so as torotate preferably in a horizontal plane. connected tothe sliding member 51 and preferably to a pivot 50 the spring tending to pull the member 51 toward the wall 13 and thus away from the drawing head 42. The

" pivotal connection with the wall 13 makes it Spiral spring is possible to raise the frame 50 out of the .po-

sition shown in Fig. 5 for the purpose of cleaning underneath the tension members and for repairing, if necessary,

I have found in drawing'wire that occa-- sionally the wire being taken from the supply or feeding reel becomes kinked, or tangled which results in breakage of the wire being drawn.

then over pulley to the first die in the drawing machine as will be more fully explained hereinafter. Attached to the carriage is a depending rod 64 engaging a latch 65 mounted on a dog 66 which engages a notch 67 in a transversely movable rod 68 which rod carries at its otherend a stirrup 69 for engaging the belt which operates the pulleys 21 and 22, the rod 68 being supported in a suitable. manner by a bracket 70.

Extending along the wall 14 of the body 10 is slidably mounted a rod 71 carried in brackets 72 and 73. Connected to the rod 71 at the end nearer the feeding portion of the drawing machine is a bell crank lever 74, one end of which is attached to a depending rod 75. the lower end of which rod is connected to an arm 76 having its end adapted for engagement with the transverse rod 66. vided on the shaft 71 a coil spring 79 maintained under tension by a collar 79 suitably secured to the rod 71. hen in the position shown in Fig. 1 the tendency of the rod 71 is to be moved in the direction of the arrow by the spring 79 which, by virtue of its connection with the transverse member 68 would tend to move the stirrup 69 to a po sition of register with the loosepulley 22,

shown in Fig. 3. When the dog 66 is in engagement with the notch 67, the stirrup 69 will be opposite the tight pulley 21 guiding the belt thereon and thus permitting operation of the machine. It will then be seen that the wire A is drawn over the pulleys 54 aneland the movable pulley 61 and if a tangled portion of the wire encounters the pulley 61 it will tend to draw it upwardly, therefore causing the rod 64 to trip the dog 66 which will then release opposition to the spring 79 on the bar 71, the whole mechanism therefore being actuated to move the belt from the tight pulley 22,'to the loose pulley 21, thus stopping the movement of the machine. The wire having been straightened or new wire inserted the rod 71 is pulled Adjacent the bracket 73 there is pro back until the dog 66 engages notch 67 of To. overcome this very:

serious objection, I have provided a novel. means for stopping the operation of the;

of the pulley 61, I prefer to provide the reel '82 with a clutch shown in detail in Fig. 7,

drawing machine I when any kinked or tangled wire is delivered thereto. The mechanisnris indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 and consists of pulleys 54 and mountedadjacent the upper edge of the body 10 on a suitable shaft 56 carried in brackets 57. Extending downwardly from the bracket 57 are parallel guide rods 58 terminating in. Slidably mounted on the guide stops 59. I rods 58 is a carriage 60 supporting a pulley 61 to which is attached a depending weight rod 71 in the following manner.

the bar 68 and operation is resumed.

In order to stop the pulling reel at the time the heads 42 are stopped by actuation which clutch is operable by movement of the Referring to Fig. 7, the reel 82 comprises the shell 83 and. bottom portion 84 provided with a spindle 85 having an aperture for the reception -.=of the upper end of the shaft 86 which is rotatably mounted in any suitable manner in the body 10 of the machine, the lower end of the shaft carries a bevel gear 19 in. mesh with bevel gear 19 on shaft 17. The load of the reel 82 is transferred to the shaft 86, through ball bearings 87 and thespindle 85 is fastened to the shaft preferably by a nut 88 engaging a portion 89 ofthe shaft 86, which is reduced in diameter and provided with threads. I prefer to form a recess 90 in the upper end of the spindle 85 for the reception of oil. The lower portion of the spindle 85 i enlarged forming a recess 91 in which is mouilted a clutch 92 slidably mounted on the shaft 86. Clutch 92 has on its lower portion projecting pins 93 which are engaged by a bifurcated end 94 of thebell crank 95 which crank is pivotally mounted on the body 10 of the machine at 96. The other end of the crank extends outwardly and overlies a rearwardly extending portion of the shaft 71 designated by 71*. I prefer to mount in the portion 71*, a roller 97 which will engage the outstanding portion 95 ofthe bell crank 95- and move it upwardly as the rod 71 is moved forwardly by the s ring 79. This movement will cause the bifurcated ends 94 to disengage the clutch 92 from the spindle 85, thus stopping the rotation of the reel 82. It will thus .be seen I have so associated the pulling heads and the winding reel as to provide cotiperation of movement therebetween and to so associate the various parts to prevent continued operation of the drawing machine or the winding reel when any tangled wire is fed to the machine.

To stop the rotation of the reel 82 in case the wire being wound thereon is broken, I provide a brake operable by the clutch operating arm 95. The brake comprises an arm 105 pivoted at 106 to the body 10 so' as to permit an oscillatory movement thereof. The free end of the arm 105 is arranged to extend within the flange 107 of the reel and carries a friction pad 108 of leather or similar substance. The bell crank 95 is provided with a pin 108 for movement within a slot 109 in the arm 105, the slot being obliquely disposed so as to cause the arm 105 to rock as the pin is moved. A spring 110 may be attached to the arm 105 to urge the same into braking engagement with the flange 107. The parts are arranged so that when the clutch is engaged to rotate the reel the brake will be held away from the flange 107 against the pull of the spring. When, however, the bell crank 95 is actuated as hereinbefore described, the brake will be drawn toward the flange by virtue of the spring 106 and the disposition of the slot 109 in the arm 105.

Mounted on the bottom .12 of the casing 10 are a series of dies 80 and-81, the dies 80 being arranged with relation to the head 42 so that the wire drawn therethrough will surround the lower grooves 43 in the heads 42 and the dies 81 arranged so that the wire drawn therethrough will be drawn by the lar er grooves 44 1n the heads 42.

or oiling the moving parts of the machine I preferto mount an oil pump 98 (see Fig. 3)

driven by means of a belt connection 99 work demands.

with pulleys 100 and 101 on shafts 20 and 102. The oil is led to the bearings 41 through oil pipe 103 (see Fig. 4). Then it drops onto the meshing beveled gears and is collected in the lower portion 46 of the metal casing 46. I provide a drain cock 104 for drawing off the oil from the casing 46*.

The operation of the machine is as f0llows:

The-wire A- from the feed reel 63 is led over the the pulleys 54, 61 and 55 and from 55 to the first die of the series 80, (see Fig. 1). Then several turns are taken around the groove 43 in the first head 42, the. wire is then led over the first tension pulley 52 back through the first die of the series 81 and around the groove 44 in the head 42, thence around the next tension pulley 52 and over the first of the guiding rollers 45, and in like manner the wire is threaded and drawn through the outer dies and tension rollers. After leaving the last tension pulley 52 as shown in Fig. 1 the wire is led over the roller 54 to the winding reel 82. The mounting of the tension pulleys 52 on the sliding carriers 51 which are maintained in outward position by means of the springs 53 tends at all times to cause a snubbing engagement between the wire and the particular groove of the head 42 to which the wire is led from that particular tensioning pulley 52, thus at all times affording a proper pulling engagement between the head and the wire and taking up any slack that may occur between the head and the tensioning pulley, reducing therefore to a minimum the chances of breakage. It is, of course, understood that I may utilize'as many heads 42 as desirable also as many tensioning pulleys 52 as the nature of the It is understood that a machine and arrangement such as that chosen by me in describing my invention is susceptible of modifications and such modifications I consider as coming within the scope of my invention aS defined in the appended claims.

It will be observed that by my invention I have devised a novel means for drawing wire, that I have successfully arranged the various parts of my machine so as to prevent breakage of the wire while being drawn and to offer at all times pulling engagement between the wire and the revolving heads. By reason of providing heads with a plurality of peripheral grooves, I have been able to reduce the size of the machine while maintaining the same number of dies and heads without affecting the efliciency of the machine. The provision of the tensioning means as before stated causes proper tensioning under all conditions of wire reduction, prevents any sagging of the wire, and the tensioning means are arranged' so as to permit adjustment, repair, replacement and cleaning. The various parts are so associated and related as to provide a novel wire drawing machine-which is complete in itself.

I claim:

1. A wire drawing machine, in combination, a table, a series of reducing dies mounted thereon, a plurality of drawing heads rotatably supported in said table the heads being arranged ahead of the dies in the'direction of travel of the wire, means for tensioning the wire on the heads inclu ing a roller adapted to rotate in a horizontal plane, and a mounting for said roller which mounting is of such nature as to be swung to permit the roller to be moved into and out of tensioning position.

2. A wire drawing machine, in combinameans for tensionin tion, a table, a lurality of vertical shafts 1 extendin theretlirough, drawing heads on' said sha ts, means for simultaneously rotating said shafts, a plurality of reducing dies mounted on said table adjacent said heads, wire feeding and collectlng means, the wire prior to its delivery to the reducing dies, and means for tensionlng the wire prior to its delivery to the collecting means, all of said tensioning means being yieldably mounted when in operative position and carried on a frame which may be swung away from said table.

Signed at Chica 0, State of Illinois, this 26th day of Novem er, A. D., 1917.

JOHN W. LAUREN. 

